HMM Union with Record High Performance Faces Rising Strike Crisis

Wage Frozen for 8 Years, Union Demands "25% Increase"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Je-hoon] The labor and management of HMM, the largest container shipping company in South Korea, are facing the threat of a strike. This comes as the company is on the verge of achieving record-breaking performance following the post-COVID-19 shipping boom, but the two sides remain far apart in wage and collective bargaining negotiations.

According to industry sources on the 29th, the HMM Land Labor Union held a delegates' meeting and decided through a vote to apply for labor dispute mediation with the Central Labor Relations Commission. If the mediation by the commission fails and a strike vote is held, the union will obtain the legal right to strike.

The Seafarers' Union, composed of crew members, also plans to initiate the mediation application process with the Central Labor Relations Commission if no progress is made in the third round of negotiations scheduled for the 3rd of next month. The Seafarers' Union intends to form a joint front with the Land Labor Union if mediation fails.

Since the 2010s, due to the prolonged shipping industry downturn and the shock of the Hanjin Shipping collapse, HMM has frozen wages for eight years (based on land workers) starting from 2011. However, with the revival of the shipping industry after the COVID-19 pandemic and HMM posting an operating profit of 1.0193 trillion KRW in the first quarter alone, the situation has changed, widening the gap between labor and management positions.

The union demands a 25% wage increase considering the eight years of wage freeze and improved performance, while the management proposes a 5.5% annual salary increase and a bonus payment equivalent to 100% of the monthly base salary, showing a significant difference between the two sides.

Industry insiders say that the key to resolving the issue ultimately lies with KDB Industrial Bank. The bank is the largest shareholder of HMM, holding a 24.9% stake. Having injected over 3 trillion KRW of public funds into HMM for shipping industry reconstruction, the bank is reportedly maintaining a negative stance toward a high wage increase.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.